Capt. Fantastic Pinball Machine

Captain Fantastic is an arcade pinball machine designed by Greg Kmiec and produced by Bally in 1976. A semi-sequel to Bally’s earlier Wizard!, and named after the chart-topping album by Elton John, it features John dressed as the Local Lad from the rock opera movie Tommy. The game’s vibrant artwork, relatively easy gameplay, and Elton John’s popularity made it one of the most popular pinball machines ever. Pinball enthusiasts consider it one of the iconic machines of the ’70s.

Blatantly sexist, the table features large-breasted women all over its backglass and playfield art. Slyly slipping around Bally management, artist Dave Christensen also included several risque bits in the backglass, most notably a woman enthusiastically grabbing the groin of a man behind her. Bally weakly attempted censorship by adding small mirrored stars over the objectionable parts, though they didn’t completely obscure the art.

A home version of the game was produced, with an entirely different layout, family-friendly art, and kid-friendly shorter legs.